The birth of an actor

Chapter 112 Zhang Yang
"Here you go, don't worry, this is an IOU."

Early in the morning, at the bank entrance, Liu Qiangdong handed An Xin an IOU with his fingerprint on it, clearly stating that he had borrowed 40,000 yuan.

Seeing this, Anxin nodded and took it.

"Anyway, I'm not in a hurry, Dong-ge, just don't feel pressured."

"……Okay, thank you."

So, he quickly took 40,000 yuan in cash and got into a taxi.

After seeing Liu Qiangdong off, An Xin went straight back to school for classes. Around noon, Wang Jinghua sent him a message. After calling her back, he learned that she had confirmed the reshoot time with "Princess Pearl".

We filmed in early June, before the grass grew too tall. It will take about two to three days, so it won't interfere with the filming of "That Dog".

Furthermore, the production team agreed that An Xin would not cut his hair, and he could wear a Qing Dynasty military armor. After all, it was Emperor Qianlong who was involved in the project, so wearing armor would be reasonable.

……

"Don't worry, come out here, I'm at your school gate. Come on, let me take you to eat."

"Uh……"

He dialed Xu Qing's number right after class that evening.

This older sister launched another surprise attack.

I've gotten used to it, though.

He could now more or less discern Qing's personality. To put it bluntly, she was just like a little girl, despite her age... well, anyway, when she was in a good mood, the whole world seemed sunny. But when she was in a bad mood, it was like a bolt from the blue.

Before May Day, she asked to go on a trip by herself. After being rejected, the woman said, "Hmph, if you don't want to come with me, fine, I have plenty of other people!" and hung up the phone.

You can tell how outrageous this personality is.

Just like a child.

They can make the wind blow as they please, and they can make the rain fall as they please.

So, after responding, he declined Da Sheng's invitation to play cards together that night and walked straight out of the school gate.

Upon seeing the Honda, he immediately opened the car door and saw Xu Qing's radiant smile:

"Hurry, get in the car."

"Where did you come from, Sister Qing? And you're wearing makeup?"

Looking at her exquisite and charming makeup, Anxin was a little curious.

"It was specially prepared for tonight's dinner party."

"...What kind of dinner party?"

"I'll take you to meet some friends."

As Xu Qing spoke, he placed his fingers on An Xin's cheek and pinched it. He said with a smile:
"My play is about to start, and some of my friends from the play are here today. Let me introduce you to them; having more friends means having more opportunities, right?"

"Uh...ok."

Anxin agreed, and only then did she let go and drive towards the restaurant.

When will Sister Qing's movie start?

"It'll be soon, just about ten days left. This time I'm playing a mistress, which is quite interesting. What about yours?"

Mid-June.

Where was it filmed?

"Hunan Province."

"what?"

Xu Qing was speechless for a moment:
"That far? Doesn't that mean we're going into the mountains?"

"It's alright, but the story was indeed filmed in the mountains."

"Then you have to be prepared, you know? Nothing is convenient in the mountains, so you have to be fully prepared."

"Yeah. I know."

The two chatted about things related to the film crew all the way there, and finally arrived at the restaurant, where they were led into a private room by a waiter.

There were about seven or eight men inside, and they all smiled warmly when they saw Xu Qing arrive.

"Hello, I'm not late, am I?"

"No, Lao Pu hasn't arrived yet."

After one of the men spoke, he looked at An Xin:

"This is?"

“This is my younger brother, Anxin. He’s also an actor, Anxin. Come, let me introduce you. This is screenwriter Zhang Jun’an, one of the screenwriters of ‘Coming and Going’… Old Zhang, if there are any suitable roles for my brother in the future, please remember us.”

"Haha, sure, sure! Since you've spoken, how could it not work?"

Amidst a respectful and polite greeting, Zhang Jun'an shook hands with him, looked him up and down, and then smiled:
"Wow, the kid is so handsome... How old is he?"

"you guess."

Xu Qing seemed to have a pretty good relationship with him, exchanging jokes and banter.

"Looks like he's around 20. Beijing Film Academy? Central Academy of Drama?"

"Neither, it's from Renmin University."

"Oh..."

To everyone's surprise, she continued to introduce everyone to Anxin one by one.

At this moment, Anxin realized that today's gathering should be the reunion of the cast and crew of the drama "Coming and Going" that Sister Qing is going to act in, but she didn't see the director.

He had a very clear understanding of his role at this dinner party: to serve others.

He was brought to this dinner by Sister Qing, so naturally he couldn't embarrass her.

Be diligent; if anyone is short of water or alcohol, just refill their cup. You can't go wrong with that.

Speak less. Do more.

So, while everyone was chatting and laughing, he didn't interrupt, but instead got up to refill the water for anyone who had taken more than two sips.

However, the food was not served, and everyone just chatted about various interesting things over tea until the door to the private room was pushed open again.

The two people walked in.

An Xin recognized one of them immediately; it was Pu Cunxin.

This guy is so famous. At least when Anxin was young, you could always see him in TV series, movies, and even in advertising endorsements.

It's not unfamiliar at all.

"Old Pu, why are you so late?"

Xu Qing started with a single sentence.

Pu Cunxin smiled and waved his hand:
"Sorry I'm late. This is my friend, Zhang Yang, who is also a director. We were discussing a script, which took up some time."

His tone was calm and gentle, and to be honest, it was quite pleasant to listen to.

Zhang Yang, who was slightly overweight and standing next to him, also said with a smile:

"Hello everyone, sorry we're late."

Since they had already said that, the group had nothing to say and invited them to sit down.

However, the main seats were already full, and since everyone was quite familiar with each other tonight, the seating was very casual. Pu Cunxin didn't pick and chose a seat and simply pulled out a chair near the door and sat down.

Zhang Yang then sat down next to him, next to An Xin.

"Hey, Lao Pu, let me introduce you. This is my younger brother, An Xin, a top student from Renmin University. If you come across any suitable scripts in the future, remember to think of him." Pu Cunxin had actually noticed An Xin as well, and at first he was curious about which actor he was, since he looked unfamiliar. But after hearing Xu Qing's words, he smiled and nodded.
"Okay, I remember."

Anxin quickly greeted him, and he responded with a smile.

After settling down comfortably, he politely greeted Zhang Yang:
"Director Zhang, hello, I'm An Xin. It's nice to meet you. Please take good care of me."

"Ha, hello, hello."

Zhang Yang smiled and extended his hand; the two shook hands.

However, since we had just met and there was a significant age gap, our conversation was limited to that and did not go into any deeper detail.

The arrival of these two marked the official start of the dinner. They called the waiter to serve the dishes and opened a glass of baijiu. Soon, after the cold dishes were served, everyone, including Xu Qing, raised their glasses of baijiu, except for An Xin who was holding a beverage glass.

……

As the only two "outsiders" at the dinner party, Zhang Yang and An Xin couldn't really join in the conversation.

Furthermore, Anxin could even help pour tea or wine, while Zhang Yang could only passively drink, finishing his cup in one gulp.

That's exactly what the concept of "guests or not" means.

The guests you invited are embarrassed, and everyone else is embarrassed too.

There wasn't much to talk about, we weren't close, and there wasn't much overlap in our topics.

So, naturally, the two "strangers" huddled together for warmth.

"Thank you, Director Zhang, but I don't know how."

Seeing that An Xin refused his cigarette, Zhang Yang didn't mind and nodded. Amidst the laughter of the others, he asked An Xin:

"how old are you?"

"18."

When traveling, one should naturally say their age is a bit older to feel at ease.

Zhang Yang nodded:
"Also an actor? What works has he been in?"

"I actually only started acting last year. So far, I've only done one show, Qiong Yao's 'Princess Pearl,' where I played a supporting male role."

"Oh~ Qiong Yao dramas? That's impressive, every drama she stars in becomes a hit."

"Yes... but I don't care whether it's popular or not, I mainly think acting is quite interesting."

"Haha, we're about the same. I only officially started directing this year. I just finished filming my debut film last year."

"Movie?"

"Yes, it's called 'Spicy Love Soup.' It stars Xu Jinglei and Xu Fan..."

"...?"

Anxin was taken aback.

Who?
"Xu Jinglei? Xu Fan?"

"Correct."

Zhang Yang nodded, then noticed An Xin's strange expression and asked, puzzled:
"what happened?"

"...Are you a friend of Sister Leilei and Sister-in-law?"

"?"

Now it was Zhang Yang's turn to be stunned.

Sister Leilei?
sister in law?

"...You know him too?"

"We know each other."

"Yo?"

Seeing Anxin nod, Zhang Yang was delighted.

See, our relationship has become closer.

My friend is also your friend...

So, he smiled and picked up his glass:
"how did you guys meet?"

Anxin clinked glasses with him and explained:
"I met Sister Leilei on Director Zhao's film set, 'A Romantic Affair.' Through Sister Leilei, I met Brother Wang, and later, through Brother Wang, I met Brother Feng and his wife..."

"Oh my, what a coincidence..."

"Of course, Brother Zhang, I salute you."

"Come."

With this connection, the two were no strangers.

The dinner party became increasingly lively.

The people at this table, including Xu Qing, really have a high alcohol tolerance.

The dinner had only been going on for about an hour, and each person had already downed at least half a jin (250ml) of liquor.

Just as An Xin and Zhang Yang were chatting enthusiastically, suddenly, an arm was put on An Xin's shoulder:
"You brat, I'm getting drunk."

Anxin turned her head and, amidst a burst of alcohol fumes, saw Qingjie's flushed cheeks.

So he quickly poured her a cup of tea and said with a smile:
"It's okay, Sister Qing. Are you having a good day? I'll drive you home in a bit."

"Hehe, really? You can drive?"

"Don't worry."

As An Xin spoke, Xu Qing laughed even more heartily, and pinched An Xin's cheek:
"Hey, let me tell you, my brother is a really reliable guy. If you see him in the future, please take good care of him, or he'll come home and complain about me and I'll be furious with you!"

"Let go now."

Pu Cunxin shook his head with amusement:

"You pinched that kid's face so many times in one night, and now you've made it swollen."

"Hehehe, I'd love to."

The tipsy older woman's arm went from being draped over her to being wrapped around her:
"My little brother, I can squeeze him however I want, hehehehe..."

As she spoke, she rested her chin on Anxin's shoulder and waved her hand shakily:

"No, you guys go first next round, I need to catch my breath... hiccup~ I'm dizzy."

As soon as he finished speaking, he tilted his head to the side, rested his head on Anxin's shoulder, and let out a long sigh of relief.

"call……"

Anxin knew that she was probably really dizzy at the moment, so she didn't care. After lending her her shoulder, she even lowered her head a little so that she could lean on it more comfortably.

But at this moment...

Suddenly, the corner of his mouth twitched.

The hand under the table subtly grasped Xu Qing's hand, while the older sister's hand was pinching the flesh on his stomach.

It wasn't particularly forceful, but... it hurt a little.

Then, amidst the lively atmosphere of the dinner party, a sentence rang in his ears:

"Little brat... I'm your older sister. If I ever hear you calling someone 'sister' or 'sister-in-law' again... I'll really get angry!"

"..."

Anxin's lips twitched.

(End of this chapter)